2017 VIZIO SmartCast M- Series Ultra HD HDR XLED Plus Review

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

I know during the holiday season it can be hard to make a big ticket purchase either for your home or as a gift for someone else. This is especially true when it comes to electronics.

Every company seems to be coming out with something new and your time is already limited with work, family, and all of the other holiday things that stretch your time even thinner.

This is my first smart television and overall I thought it brought a lot of great features to the table.

I’ll give you a rundown of the main highlights, my personal thoughts (pros and cons), and who I would recommend this smart tv for.

Main Highlights of the VIZIO SmartCast M-Series

Before going into the detailed features of this television, I just want to give you a few bullet points of the main highlights.

One of the key features of SmartCast is that it’s built on Google’s Chromecast built-in. Once your phone or tablet is on the same network with the TV, Apps that are Chromecast-enabled can be cast to the display. There are actually thousands of Apps that are Chromecast-enabled.

The SmartCast Mobile app allows you to aggregate multiple apps, like Hulu, in one place. You can search for the movie “Minions”, and SmartCast will tell you if it’s on Hulu, or Vudu, or whatever. You can still go directly to your Hulu app on your phone and search there. There may be some content that Hulu does not share.

There is also the SmartCast TV app, which is on-screen, for those users who are more comfortable with that. The on-screen app has the added bonus of providing access to Amazon Video, which is not available to Chromecast users.

The TV is currently on sale for $499.

In the FWIW column on TV tuners- CEA studies show that less than 10% of households use a TV tuner—typically viewers receive local channels through their cable or satellite provider—or from a streaming provider. Tuners are available separately and are frequently included with a DVR.

Images Like Never Before

From the research I performed, I noticed that one of the big changes in this VIZIO upgrade is that the images are of much better quality.

The2017 VIZIO SmartCast M-Series Ultra HD HDR XLED is equipped with high-performance local dimming backlight technology. Additionally, the brightness has been enhanced with high-quality contrast. It also comes with Ultra Color Spectrum, which brings out the details to produce more vivid images than ever.

I made this smart tv set into my living room television model because of the size. So, far we have used it for sports viewing, gaming, and kid’s entertainment channels. No complaints about the image quality so far.

It Features SmartCast

I haven’t really been up on the latest tv tech and features soSmartCast is something that is very new to me (I’ve been keeping tabs on laptops and the iPhone X in recent weeks). However, I must say that it is very convenient. More so for me since I use Hulu, Netflix, and Amazon vs traditional cable.

The interface is easy to use and you can control your viewing experience from your phone or tablet. Maybe it’s just me, but I prefer being able to control television apps from my phone (I even have the Roku app installed).

The best part is hundreds of apps are compatible with SmartCast. All you have to do is press the “Cast” button and you’re good to go.

I’ve streamed Hulu via SmartCast, however, when it came to streaming certain football games I wasn’t able to do it and had to access Hulu manually. I’m not sure if this is on Hulu’s end or what, but that was the only SmartCast issue I ran into. (I know I haven’t told you guys about my experience so far with Hulu Live TV yet, so I’ll make sure to write about that in an upcoming post).

The End of the Format Wars

There’s nothing more annoying than being unable to access something because it’s in a different format. Those format wars have come to an end because the 2017 VIZIO SmartCast M-Series Ultra HD HDR XLED Plus is capable of formatting both HDR10 and Dolby Vision HDR content.

Now your viewing experience is no longer dependent on the type of TV you bought in the first place.

Voice Control for a Smarter Home

Voice-controlled appliances are no longer just an idea or an ambition. The 2017 VIZIO SmartCast M-Series Ultra HD HDR XLED Plus is compatible with voice-activated technology.

Just tell Google ChromeCast what you want and it will obey.

Easy to Set Up

After you plug your new 2017 VIZIO SmartCast M-Series Ultra HD HDR XLED Plus in, it takes only a matter of minutes to begin setting up your display.

You can do it either from your remote or from a mobile device you’ve already connected with VIZIO SmartCast Mobile. I personally chose to go the mobile app route and despite it taking about a half hour to be ready to use, the process was painless. The longest part is waiting for everything to be installed and updated.

Once you get started, you’ll receive simple on-screen instructions. This is a plus for me because I hate when I have to read a long and boring instruction manually to get something to function.

My Thoughts on the 2017 VIZIO SmartCast M-Series Ultra HD HDR XLED

The unboxing process to getting it up on the wall mount to even the setup process went well. No special mount had to be purchased (I actually used the one I already had up that my prior television was on) and you don’t need to pay a subscription to use the television either.

I was a little surprised to find out that the television wasn’t really 50 inches though, as advertised when the shelf was being installed for the game.

Below, are the main pros and cons of the 2017 VIZIO SmartCast M-Series Ultra HD XLED Plus in my opinion:

Pros

Affordably Priced: Normally, you can purchase this smart tv for $549, which is very affordable when compared to other brands.

No Subscription to Pay: When I purchased a new television for my bedroom I was considering some smart televisions. However, a few had a subscription that had to be paid (according to user reviews I read) once you connected the television to the internet.

You Can Operate It Via Remote or App: This works great, for parents, in my experience anyway, because you don’t have to worry about hunting for the remote to use the television or search for whatever it is that you’re looking for. I mean seriously, you can do anything from the app that you could from your remote including adjusting the picture settings.

Cons

No Antenna Connector: For sports, before, we used an antenna connector and it also worked wonders for when the kids have tv time and I need to finish up some business work. However, with the 2017 VIZIO SmartCast M-Series Ultra HD XLED Plus, there is no connection, which was what inspired me to give Hulu Live TV a try.

Who I Would Recommend the 2017 VIZIO SmartCast M-Series Ultra HD XLED Plus To

I would recommend the 2017 VIZIO SmartCast M-Series Ultra HD XLED Plus television to those who are in the market for their first smart tv. It brings all of the bells and whistles without the unreasonably high price tag.

This isn’t to say that those who have tried out multiple smart televisions wouldn’t like it. I’m just recommending based on of my own experience as a newbie to smart televisions.

Final Thoughts on the 2017 VIZIO SmartCast M-Series

It’s clear that the 2017 VIZIO SmartCast M-Series Ultra HD HDR XLED Plus is delivering innovations never encountered before. With better colors, better contrast, and an innovative smart display, your TV time is never going to be the same again. If you’re building a smart home, you can’t be without the 2017 VIZIO SmartCast M-Series Ultra HD HDR XLED Plus.

And at only $549, this is one of the most affordable investments you’ll ever make! Plus, if you purchase now, you can score a 50 inch for just $499.

Comments

I recently purchased an LG. I was torn between LG, Sony, Samsung and Vizio, but the higher ratings for the LG model I purchased and seeing the picture in store is what ultimately swayed me. I do like that this one has voice control as that feature should already be on all smart TV’s, but sadly is not. This does sound like a good first smart TV especially with what you are getting for the price.

That TV looks and sounds really nice. It has been a couple of years since we bought a new tv, but we’ve been thinking about getting one for my bedroom. If we do, I’ll keep this brand in mind. Can’t beat that price!

I know what you mean lol. I only purchase new TVs when one breaks, which is why I hadn’t gotten on the smart tv bandwagon yet. I replaced my bedroom tv at the beginning of the year as it went out and then one of the speakers blew in the living room one.